Tuesday, November 29, 2011

I'm sort of behind in getting my comics lately. Superboy wasn't there and work/the holiday rush kept me from getting Teen Titans and JLD. So I'll get to those but rereading some of the bat books I've been thinking about Bruces' role as a father and how he seemed to fail his kids or do horrible things. Just for an example:

He fires Dick, refuses to reconnect with him and acts very childish about adopting Jason. There's a bit with Tim desperately wanting to tell his friends and girlfriend (Spoiler/Steph) who he is. Bruce repeatedly tells him no. This causes strains with his various relationships. Then out of the blue Bruce tells Steph without discussing it with Tim beforehand. Abandons Cass for a year which leads to her turn for the worse. Only let's Steph be Robin to make Tim jealous. And don't even get me started on what he did with Jason. I'll be doing a review on Death in the Family and believe me, despite the writer not liking the idea of Robin Bruce doesn't come off that great.

I think Bruce has some great moments but there's plenty of issues there. Lack of trust, the way he pushed people away, pettiness, and what looks like favoritism. Or maybe it's just the issues I've been reading lately. At least he's not kidnapping Robins anymore.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

I'm thankful for the creation of Booster Gold, his character development from Countdown to Infinite Crisis forward, having another solo title, JLGL, the Time Master mini series and the current JLI. This is the character that got me interested in DC, the reason I stuck with the company despite some of their poor choices and why I decided to give other titles a try. I'm glad Skeets got a bigger role in his series, that Michelle returned and just about anything to do with Rip Hunter.

I'm glad Scott Lobdell is writing three titles for DC because I enjoy all three of them. I'm not annoyed with Cassandra Sandsmark, Tim Drake is likable, Bart Allen has returned to his more interesting roots, and the new characters are fun. Jason Todd actually gets real development that makes sense, the outlaws have great interaction and it really hit it's stride. Superboy has managed to explore his sci-fi origin and hint at his connection to Luthor in a way that's compelling. "Red" and Rose come off very strong and have me wondering what will happen next.

While I'm not thrilled with every choice in the bat books (Babs/Batgirl) I'm glad that all the Robins and Batgirls still exist.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

This is truly one of the most horrific Batman stories I ever read and I'm not just talking about gore (which might be considered tame by todays' standards.) This one is brutal and scary because for most of the story Batman has no control of the situation. He's not the flawless badass that we know today that even has a plan for being mind controlled. This one stands out for a lot of reasons, it's also the second most known Robin tale for Jason Todd where he plays a rather interesting role. So why is this such a well known story for Batman fans?

This year I'm trying to do my Christmas shopping early but no one is being particularly helpful when I ask for ideas. (So they shouldn't be surprised if I end up giving them gift cards.) This kind of confuses me because I was under the impression that you want to get things you like as gifts. Not that anyone seems to care what I want either.

I made a list and lo and behold no one takes me seriously when I put that I want a subscription to the comics I listed. I like comics, this would save me money on a few series and gas money. What's not to love? Sure it's not something you can really wrap under the tree but believe me I'd love it!